Is American hegemony indispensable in the world?

Indian hegemony is destructive on the Indian subcontinent but American hegemony is desirable in the world? This statement smacks of Pakistan’s desperation and American connivance. It also reveals China’s instigation and Japan’s ambivalence! Does it mean an Indian victim hood? Not in the least! It shows Indian diffidence and lack of assertiveness. Similar diffidence could also be seen in the nineteenth century America. It was busy fighting a devastating civil war and all kinds of continental disputes, not very different from what you see in India today. World War I changed all that and we saw the emergence of a great world power, The United States of America.

Remember the British Empire? It entered the twentieth century with the same misplaced confidence. The British Empire was also the largest debtor nation in 1900 but ignored the warning signs. The only difference appears to be the absence of another major power capable of either replacing America or sharing the burden it shoulders. Having said that it must be acknowledged that the United States has created more problems in the past three decades than it has solved. I am reluctantly accepting Fareed Zakaria’s assertion about ‘The Post American World’. He suggests that the world would have to be organized like a board of directors where many powers would share the burden with America’s leadership. The problem with this point of view is that the United States is absolutely unwilling to accommodate just about anybody on the face of this earth! Just THINK about this serious problem!

Most of the contemporary problems in the world were created by the British Empire, the Soviet Empire and the American Empire, whether they accept it or not. Now, the emerging Chinese Empire is itching to add on to them with full connivance of the United States and the European Union. There is no country or group of countries strong enough to deter them as yet. The mischief that China is creating in Africa and South America would have to be dealt with in the decades to come. In twenty years when the African Continent and the South American Continent is on fire, America would sit on their hands and look the other way just like the erstwhile British Empire is doing today. It is time G-20 or some such group takes control of the situation and prevents the impending catastrophe. We do not have much time left!